On Tuesday I published a piece in which I wrote about Mazda’s poor option & group packaging on the MX-5 Miata. How it’s a shame that you can’t get an LSD with heated seats or vice-versa. Well… yesterday the automaker announced that changes are being made for the 2018 model year. After many complaints from buyers and reviewers alike, Mazda has done what the people asked of it and is giving them what they want.

What’s changing on the Miata option packaging, and how does this affect desirability of certain trim levels? Read on to find out.

I do have to commend Mazda for listening to the people and responding so well. Very often we complain that automakers build what they think the buying public wants but what is actually just ever-so off-target, and the car goes about its lifecycle without changes being made to tailor to said buyers’ wants. But not Mazda: for the 2018 model year, the Miata is now available with a more thorough slew of available options, finally making for some redundancy but still with enough difference between each individual tier for each to justify its own existence.

First and most prominently, heated and leather-trimmed seats are available on the Club trim when choosing the Brembo/BBS package. This was a sorely missed option when going from GT down to Club. Stepping up to the Brembo/BBS Recaro package includes– you guessed it– Recaro seats that are also heated, and while the comfort of these will have to be tested (the questionable Recaros in Ford’s ST products come to mind), it’s still unquestionably a nice touch that makes the car just that much more well rounded. Mazda realized that just because you want a limited slip differential doesn’t mean you don’t want heated seats. Props to them for acknowledging such and making a quick turnaround on the matter. Clearly they must have been listening to me.

No mention is made of the thicker, more insulated top being available (or standard) on the Club, but there is a new choice of roof color: Dark Cherry. The deep red certainly classes up the car and makes for a nice way to offset both the darker and lighter paints. Likewise, a new Auburn Nappa leather interior is there for your choosing, as are two exterior colors in Soul Red Crystal and Machine Gray Metallic.

As far as I’m concerned, and your opinion may and very likely will vary, but a Club with the Brembo/BBS package and the heated/leather seats that come with it is as perfect a Miata as has every been sold. Even the base Club with the cloth heated seats is genuinely appealing. Actually, I take back my first claim: the base Club with heated cloth seats is the way I’d go. Comfortable, heated seats and a limited slip-diff…in terms of options, what more could you want in an MX-5?

Even the Sport trim, the most basic of Miatas, sees improvements on the equipment front: Mazda Connect is now present, as is keyless entry.

Mechanically, it sounds like the Miata is largely unchanged. That is by no means a bad thing. The press release mentions a re-tuned suspension and power steering unit, but so long as they’re not monumental changes we’ll be just as happy driving the little roadster.

It weighs relatively nothing. A turbo would be nice, but it absolutely doesn’t need it.

That said, I’d *love* to see a new Mazdaspeed Miata with the new turbo motor.

wunno sev

just dug around and can’t find any suggestion that Mazda Connect includes Android Auto or Apple Carplay. tbh, that kind of phone integration is a game-changer. my Fiesta got the upgrade a year ago or so, and that one feature alone has made the Fiesta my preferred road trip car.

any new car should have it. nav from Waze, whatever audio apps you want (Spotify and NPR One are super well-done AA apps), etc. if a car could only do Apple Carplay, i’d get an iPhone. that’s how much i like it. bummer that the only AA-capable head units cost $400 or i’d add it to my Volvo, too.

i seriously cannot speak highly enough of this feature. for what can’t be more than like $200 in hardware for an OEM, smartphone integration should just be standard on everything. it blows my mind that they still sell cars without this stuff. they took their sweet time on Bluetooth integration too. even frickin’ Tesla doesn’t have AA.

Ross Ballot

I am surprised that it’s not there, but I’m still up in the air about its functionality. Half the people I talk to love it, the other half say it’s useless.

wunno sev

the cynic in me says it’s because they want to sell $1500 nav-and-audio packages, and nobody would spend a dollar on that package if their car came with good smartphone integration

Douche_McGee

I just bought a ’17 club, and the dealer told me that CarPlay would be offered sometime 2nd qtr next year, and that it would be a free system upgrade, unfortunately requiring a visit to the dealer.

Mazda Connect is pretty m’eh. My former FiST w/ the old sync allowed me to interact w/ siri via the voice command button on the steering wheel. I used it a lot to text while driving, get quick directions. And I miss that a lot.

cap’n fast

MX-5 is built to be driven. It is small and light. it simply does not take well to being smacked from any direction because the driver is not driving but playing with a “phone”. that is probably why it does not have the aforementioned apps and toys. pay attention to what is happening around the car instead of what the latest valley girl fashion is.
a GPS with a head up display should be a standard equipment item in every vehicle. how hard could it be to do that?
texting drivers need electroshock therapy. i have been hit twice now by texting drivers. thankfully, i was in a 7,000 pound Dodge Ram truck. all i felt was a gentle push while their cars were both totaled.